North Carolina Republican lawmakers are seeking a one-year delay in implementing a new social studies curriculum in the state's public schools.
The delay was tucked into a rewritten COVID-19 relief bill that passed in the state House on Wednesday.
The State Board of Education had approved the new K-12 social studies standards in February. Some Republicans have criticized the standards because they contain elements of “Critical Race Theory,” a controversial teaching approach that incorporates explicit discussion of racism and discrimination.
Just last week, former President Donald Trump appeared at the state GOP convention, telling lawmakers they need to block the teaching of critical race theory.
Republican legislators say the delay is needed because state education officials have not finished preparing the curriculum.
Representative Jeffrey Elmore says implementation is “logistically impossible.”
But The News & Observer reports some Democrats say delaying the new standards would cause even more disruption, as teachers would now have to rewrite lesson plans for the coming year.
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt called the last-minute legislation “discouraging,” and said that schools “need clarity as soon as possible.”